Page 131 of Luck of the Devil

“Why are you tryin’ so hard to save him?” he asked with a soft shake of his head. “That man ain’t worth savin’.”

His words sent a chill down my spine. I knew James had been ruthless before—hell, I’d seen signs of it myself—but he’d never struck me as irredeemable. “Then I guess you don’t know him like I do.”

He made a face like my answer satisfied him. “I have a girl too.”

I didn’t like where this was going. It was one thing to shoot a nameless gunman hell-bent on kidnapping or killing me. That was survival of the fittest. But this made him real.

A person who was dying.

Because of me.

“I bet she’d do anything she could to save you,” I said, my words thick.

“Nah.” He gave a faint smile. “She’s too soft. But I love her anyway.”

“I’m sure she loves you. And if someone had taken you, she’d fight like hell to get you back. Just like I’m doing. Please—I’m begging you. Tell me where they took him.”

He looked at me again, his gaze distant and unfocused. “You must really love him.”

I was pretty sure lying to a dying man was some kind of unforgiveable sin, but I was out of options.

“You have no idea,” I said. “I can’t live without him. So, please. Please, tell me where they took him.”

A ghost of a smile crossed his face. “An abandoned factory on the west side of town. That’s all I’ve got. She’s waitin’ there for him.”

“Nicole Knox?” I asked, but he didn’t answer.

I’d killed this man.

Guilt clung to me like yoke, heavy and cold. But I’d had no choice. It had been them or us, and I’d chosen us.

I could deal with the guilt later.

Right now, I had to save James.

I patted the outside of the dead man’s pockets, hoping to feel the outline of keys or a key fob. Nothing. I made my way up the hill to the next guy, and then next—still nothing.

Frustrated, I sprinted to the SUV and yanked open the driver’s door. To my shock, the key fob was sitting in the cupholder like a gift from the universe. I muttered a quick thanks to whatever deity was watching over me as I started the engine, threw it into drive and hit the gas.

The warehouse was at least twenty minutes away. And they had a ten-minute head start.

I just hoped I wasn’t too late.

Chapter 34

I called Carter while en route to the warehouse and gave him a condensed version of what had happened after we’d been run off the road—including the fact that James had been kidnapped.

Carter let out a sharp gasp.

“I stole one of their SUVs,” I said, my voice tight. “I’m on my way to get him right now.”

“By yourself? I’ll send the team to the warehouse. Don’t go in alone.”

“Your team won’t get there in time,” I said, my stomach churning. They might not kill him, but they’d sure as hell hurt him.

“Don’t take any unnecessary risks and get yourself captured too,” Carter said. “That’ll make the rescue team’s job twice as hard.”

“Fuck you, Carter.” I hung up, furious. I knew he was probably right, but there was no way I was leaving James in their hands a second longer than necessary. God only knew if he’d regained consciousness yet, or what kind of damage they might be inflicting to his concussion.